


Nathan & Adelaide

by cg_reads



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-09-24 20:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9784397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cg_reads/pseuds/cg_reads
Summary: Sometime you just need to have a spouse and quickly. Real friends understand this.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AdamantSteve](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdamantSteve/gifts).



> I got sooo nervous writing a fic for @adamantsteve! But, I did it! I wrote a thing. And then I scrapped that thing because inspiration hit the morning *after* it was due - lol! 
> 
> Anywho, I hope you enjoy it!

Clint watched the door of the shop nervously, waiting for Phil to come through for his regularly scheduled “surprise” visit.

He was sure Phil thought that he was keeping his employees on their feet by dropping in unannounced, but the man couldn’t be disorderly if he tried. He had a three-week rotation which determined the day of the week he’d be coming in and a six-week rotation determining the time.  
And…. The fact the Clint knew that meant a number of things, including that he wasn’t going to think about any of those things right now. Especially in light of the request he needed to make today.

His eyes flicked to the clock above the chalkboard menu opposite the counter. Two-minute mark. He did a last-minute sweep of the shop, making sure the tables were wiped, the dirty dish bin emptied, and Daisy off on her 15-minute break.

The bell over the door chimed.

“Hey, boss.”

“Clint.”

Phil’s eyes swept across shop, empty now during the midweek midmorning lull, clearly noting its pristine condition and missing employee.

“Out with it, Clint. What do you want?”

It’s now or never, Clint. Fortify.

“Willyoubemyhusband?”

The silence that stretches out is not nearly as tense as Clint had feared.

“That sounds somehow different than ‘Will you marry me.’”

“It is. Distinctly different. One involves a wedding and an exchanging of vows; the other…. a large amount of deception.”

“Deception.”

“You’re repeating what I say.”

Phil was one of those awesome creatures that could perfectly cut a person down to size with a few well-placed syllables. While Clint typically loved seeing him wield that skill (especially against terribly-mannered customers), it wasn’t one he needed today.

“Well, Clint, you’re saying strange and confusing things.”

“Nothing confusing here, boss. I just need you to be my husband for the duration of a single, measly family dinner. Not even a family dinner, really – it’ll just be my brother, Barney.”

“Who – let me guess – you’ve deceived into believing you’re happily married.”

“Got it in one.”

“…”

Phil was also really good at conveying his judgement without using any words.

But, Phil wasn’t the only one with a few tricks up his sleeve.

“Dammit, Clint. Put the pout away.”

“So you’ll do it!”

Oh, that exhalation was one Clint was well familiar with. It was the Exhalation of Imminent Victory! It usually meant Clint got to try something new at the shop, but, occasionally, it meant something more: the chance to buy Phil dinner in thank you, the opportunity to throw him a birthday party, or convince him to actually take a damned vacation.

Now it meant –

“Go ahead and call me Nathan Detroit.”

“…”

“…”

“…is that another musical reference?”

“Oh, come on, Clint! Guys & Dolls? Really?”

“Hey! Not all of us were blessed with an adolescence of leisure. Some of us had to go to work instead of, you know, indulging in singing theater. But! I’m gonna go ahead and assume that that was a yes of some kind. Specifically, a ‘yes, Clint, whatever you need!’”

Phil hummed.

“How about this: I get you through dinner with your brother, and you give me a day to enhance your musical repertoire?”

“I don’t really have a choice in this, do I?”

Phil’s mouth curled in a wicked little hint of a smile.

“No, you don’t really.”

Clint pretended to consider for a moment. Even beggars had their pride.

“Okay. Deal.”

“Deal.”

x~X~x

Phil watched Clint’s retreating back with more than a little bit of amusement.

Dinner with Barney had been going surprising well, for all that it had been incredibly revealing. 

Clint had, it appeared, not just told Barney that he was just happily married, but happily married to Phil.

With each inquiry that Barney made – too specific to be based on some made generically created husband – Clint had taken increasingly large sips of his drink, presumably to cover his blush. 

Practically, it’d lead to his present trip to the men’s room.

His thoughts were interrupted by Barney’s smoke-rasped voice.

“So, we’ve probably only got a handful of minutes to ourselves, so I’ll be quick. I’ve known you two weren’t married for about two years now.”

Phil’s eyebrows shot up. He hadn’t even realized he and Clint had celebrated an anniversary, maybe two.

“Well, you’ve known about the illusion of our union longer than I have. I hope you’re not too upset with him.”

Barney huffed a gruff laugh.

“Nah, not really. He only made up the whole thing to get out of giving me money. He was right to do it. I had a gambling problem then, and he’d just gotten started at the university thanks to your employee scholarship program. He knew I wouldn’t want to mess up his being happy.”

Phil thought back to the scholarship program he’d created pretty much for Clint. He’d seen right away that there was potential behind those hooded eyes and sharp wit. He had a mind for innovation and management that deserved more than the hourly wage Phil could pay him as a barista without a degree. It’d taken Phil some time to convince Clint that he wasn’t too old to go to college for the first time, but the payout was worth it.

“So, we’ve celebrated more than two anniversaries.”

Barney laughed again, this time with corner of his eyes crinkling in his mirth.

“Yeah, about 3 and half or so. Listen Phil,” he said more seriously. “I came out here because I got hired for a construction gig out in New York: good on pay, not so much on time off. If it pans out how I hope, I might not make Clint’s graduation. But, I wanted to see how he was doing, meet this guy he kept going on about. I know you two aren’t together, now, but – not that it may mean much, you’ve definitely got my blessing – you know – if you decide to give him a chance for real.”

Phil glanced toward the bathroom, catching Clint’s toned form as he made his way back through the crowded restaurant.

“Give him a chance,” he murmured distractedly.

“Yeah Phil, you’ve got to know he’s crazy about you.”

“I—“

“Hey!” Clint practically fell back into the booth next to Phil. “What’d I miss?”

“Just telling Phil here about my new job, little brother.”

Clint’s face split into a grin.

“New job! Why didn’t you tell me?”

x~X~x

In spite of the duplicitous nature of their date, Phil couldn’t conscience not walking Clint back up to his door.

“So, that went well.”

Clint’s answering smile, a little bittersweet – perhaps because of Barney’s likely absence at his quickly approaching graduation – was achingly sincere.

“It did. Barney’s sober – I think for real this time. I’ve not seen him that clear-headed in – it’s been a while. And he’s got a job.”

Clint swung around as they reached the door of his apartment, turning that smile full on to Phil.  
Phil’s breath caught, like it usually did when he had all Clint’s energy focused on him. Goodness, if this hadn’t all been worth the effort.

“He’s got a job. And we, my dear, have a date.”

For a brief moment, confusion flicked across Clint’s face before it resolved into something like wonder.

“You did ask me on a date, didn’t you.”

Phil bit down a smile.

“I’ve been told that movies and a meal are oft considered adequate initiation of a romantic interest between two participants.”

“Adequate initiation?”

Phil leaned in, pulled slightly, in part, by the brush of warm fingers hooking into the belt loops at his hips.

“You’re repeating what I say.”

“You’re talking circles around asking me out.”

“You’re –“

Phil’s really glad that Clint cut him off (deliciously, with his tongue and teeth) because he’s really not sure what he was going to say next.


End file.
